Japanese symbol for “oscillating”

首振り

くびふり

Romaji: kubifuri

oscillating (e.g. fan, engine); nodding (e.g. doll)

In Japanese, oscillating is 首振り, read くびふり (kubifuri).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n oscillating (e.g. fan, engine); nodding (e.g. doll)

Kanji and stroke order

首

neck, counter for songs and poems

on: シュ
kun: くび

9 strokes · JLPT 3

振

shake, wave, wag

on: シン
kun: ふ.る、ふ.れる、ふ.るう

10 strokes · JLPT 1

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
首相	しゅしょう shushou	prime minister; chancellor (Germany, Austria, etc.); premier
首都	しゅと shuto	(national) capital (city); metropolis
首脳	しゅのう shunou	head; leader; top
手首	てくび tekubi	wrist
足首	あしくび ashikubi	ankle
乳首	ちくび chikubi	nipple; teat
振り	ふり furi	swing; shake; sweep
振興	しんこう shinkou	promotion; encouragement

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.